Site plan vault assembly

ABSTRACT

A site plan vault assembly for the storage of site plans for a construction site, the site plan vault assembly comprising a heavy gauge post which can be driven into the soil, the heavy gauge post having secured thereto in a vertical orientation, a tubular vault member of sufficient dimension to slideably receive the site plans for the particular construction site, the tubular vault member optionally having a slotted bottom wall to prevent the accumulation of dirt, sand or dust within the vault, and to prevent condensation within the vault, the tubular vault member having an upper end for receipt of a cap member which allows the construction site plans to be slidably inserted into the tubular vault from the top of the tubular vault with the cap member securing the top of the tubular vault.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No.60/560,362, filed Apr. 8, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to construction sites and the storage ofconstruction site plans on site, and in particular, to a reusable siteplan storage vault for the secure storage of site plans on site duringthe construction phase.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Building and construction sites are subject to local, municipal zoninglaws and ordinances and depending upon the nature and location of thesite, may even be subject to higher governmental zoning laws, i.e.county, state, etc.

A contractor must first obtain approval from the relevant governmentzoning board or officer before commencing construction. This may oftenmean appearances before a zoning board or a board of adjustment ifcertain waivers from the zoning laws are requested or required for theconstruction, or at the very least, the presentation of a complete setof plans to the building department of the appropriate governmentalagency for approval if no waivers or exceptions are required. In eithersituation, once approval is obtained, a set of sealed plans must bepresented to the governmental authority and a set of site plans asapproved by the governmental authority must be maintained on theconstruction site.

During the construction process, inspections are required at variousphases by a building inspector of the governmental authority. Forexample, footings may have to be inspected and approved before furtherfoundation work can be commenced. Foundation work must be inspected andapproved before framing may be commenced. Building inspectors normallyhave fixed weekday schedules for inspections. Since they travel tomultiple sites, it is a requirement in many states that a sealed set ofsite plans, as approved by the governmental agency, be maintained on theconstruction site for access by the building inspector and forconsultation by the building inspector in making various inspections.

In the past, contractors and builders approached this requirement in ahaphazard manner. If the construction site were large enough to warranta construction trailer, then the plans would be kept in the trailer.However, many sites are small sites of single home construction and inthis instance, the contractor would purchase an ordinary mail box andpost, dig a post hole and erect the mail box to hold the plans on site.This practice proved cumbersome and inconvenient in that subcontractorsneeding access to the site would often remove the mail box and post toallow equipment onto the site and then forget to reestablish it. Stillfurther, the mail box and post were cumbersome and often did not lastpast a single construction project, and if it did, it was cumbersome tostore in the contractor's truck, transport, and reuse. Still further, itrequired the use of a post hole digger to install.

The problem that this presents to the contractor is that if the plansare unavailable when the inspector arrives for the inspection of aparticular phase of the construction project, the inspector will notinspect the project and therefore the contractor's work schedule becomesdelayed. Since the building inspectors are inspecting various sites ontheir given days of inspection, they tend not to wait around at aparticular site for a set of site plans to be presented. This oftenmeans that the contractor must reschedule the inspection of a particularphase of construction and that rescheduling might delay the project by aweek, thus closing down the construction project for that period of timeand causing the contractor's laborers to be temporarily out of work.This type of delay also disrupts the scheduling of materials andequipment which might be needed for the next phase of construction, forexample, the delivery of lumber once the foundation is approved for theframing of the building.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel site planvault for the storage of site plans on the construction site which isreusable, easily transportable, easy to install and which maintains thesealed site plans in a secure location which will not subject the siteplans to the vagaries of the climate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A site plan vault for the storage of sealed site plans for aconstruction site, the site plan vault comprising a heavy gauge postwhich can be driven into the soil, the heavy gauge post having securedthereto in a vertical orientation, a tubular vault member of sufficientdimension to slideably receive the site plans for the particularconstruction site, the tubular vault member optionally having a slottedbottom wall to prevent the accumulation of dirt, sand or dust within thevault, and to prevent condensation within the vault, the tubular vaultmember having a cap member which allows the construction site plans tobe slideably inserted into the tubular vault from the top of the tubularvault with the cap member securing the top of the tubular vault, the capmember having a securing means securing the cap member so that the capmember is not misplaced or separated from the assembly, the site planvault further having an optional locking means securing the cap memberto the tubular vault member when in a closed orientation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent,particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the site plan vault of the present invention ina closed configuration;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the site plan vault of the present invention inan open configuration;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the site plan vault;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the site plan vault along plane 4-4of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the housing ofthe site plan vault of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a side view of a site plan vault assembly 10 of the presentinvention in a closed, secured mode. FIG. 2 is a side view in an openmode. The site plan vault assembly 10 is comprised of a post member 12,preferably of one piece construction, and preferably, a heavy gaugegarden fence post of approximately five feet in length. Post member 12may include a stabilizer 14 positioned proximate its lower end 16,wherein lower end 16 and stabilizer 14 would be driven into the soil orground 18 by application of a force supplied by a hammer to upper end 20of post member 12. Secured to post member 12 is tubular vault member 22.In the illustration of FIG. 1, the tubular vault member 22 is secured topost member 12 by a plurality of fastening means in the form of bolts 24and nuts 25 which pass through post member 12 and the side wall 26 oftubular vault member 22 as illustrated in FIG. 4. Tubular vault member22 is thus oriented on post 12 in a vertical orientation. The lower end28 of tubular vault member 22 optionally comprises a slotted lower wall30, the slots 31 formed therein (see FIG. 3), allowing dirt, dust andsand to pass out of the tubular vault member 22 and also preventcondensation within tubular vault member 22.

The upper end 32 of tubular vault member 22 is open and in oneembodiment there being formed about the periphery 34 of upper end 32 oftubular vault member 22 a threaded means 36 cooperative with a threadedmeans 38 of cap member 40 as illustrated in FIG. 2. FIGS. 1 and 2illustrate a site plan vault wherein vault member 22 is externallythreaded and cap member 40 is internally threaded. Vault member 22 couldbe fabricated with internal threading and cap member 40 could befabricated with external threading to accomplish the same closure andsecurity to site plan vault 10.

In this configuration, the cap member 40 can be removed from tubularvault member 22 to allow the contractor to insert rolled up site plans42 for the particular construction site. The cap member 40 can then bethreadedly secured to the tubular vault member 22. Additionally, the capmember 40 may have a flexible securing means 44 attached thereto, whichflexible securing means 44 would also be attached to either the tubularvault member 22 or the post member 12 at one of the plurality of bolt 24locations so as to prevent the cap member 40 from being separated ormisplaced from the site plan vault assembly. Still further, there may bea securing means 46 in the form of a clasp and padlock or other suitablesecuring means which secure cap member 40 to tubular vault member 22when no construction personnel are on the site.

The tubular vault member and cap member 22 and 40 could be made of anysuitable material, but it has been found that PVC piping of a gradeschedule 40 and of at least 4 inches diameter, will serve the purposefor most site plans by providing sufficient volume for the rolled upplans to be inserted therein. Larger diameter piping may be utilized fortubular vault 22 if the set of site plans 42 increase in volume anddiameter when rolled up.

In addition to the structure heretofore described, the site vaultassembly may also be provided with a sleeve or decal 48 which may beapplied or slipped over the upper end of tubular vault member 22 whichsleeve or decal. 48 would provide identifying indicia to subcontractorsand building inspectors, such indicia including the contractor's nameand phone number, the permit number, the job name, the address and thelot and block of the location of the construction site.

The site plan vault assembly of the present invention is light weight,is not bulky and does not take up too much room in the contractor'svehicles, is easily installed with one tool, i.e. a hammer, as opposedto the need of a post hole digger, and is sturdy enough such that it isreusable on subsequent job sites.

It will be noted that in the illustration of FIG. 1, post member 12extends above cap member 40 of the site plan vault assembly 10. Thisallows the application of force to the upper end 20 of the post 12 toinstall the post into the ground or soil without having to remove thetubular vault member 22. Still further, if additional space saving weredesired, post 12 could be formed in two sections with a collar 50 suchthat the lower section 52 could be driven into the soil, and the uppersection 54 of post 12 could be secured to lower section 52 by means ofthe collar 50 and locking pin 51.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the tubular vaultmember 22A integrally formed with a sleeve member 23 slidably receivedon post member 12 and secured thereto by a fastening means 25. A capmember 40A may also be integrally formed with tubular vault member 22Aby means of articulating flap member 27 to secure upper end 32A in amanner previously described.

While the present invention has been described with respect to theexemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can beachieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited onlyby the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof.

1. A portable site plan vault assembly for the storage of site plans ata construction site, said site plan vault comprising: a longitudinalvertical support member having an upper end and a lower end, said lowerend for engagement in the ground; a housing member for the receipt andstorage of site plans at a construction site, said housing member havinga secured closed lower end and an open upper end selectively securableby a removable cap member, said housing member secured to said supportmember proximate said upper end, said support member selectivelyembedded in said ground at said construction site.
 2. The site planvault assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein said housing member isoriented and secured in a vertical orientation on said support member.3. The site plan vault assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidhousing member is integrally formed with a sleeve member slidablyreceived on said support member to secure said housing member on saidsupport member.
 4. The site plan vault assembly in accordance with claim1 wherein said secured lower closed end of said housing member is formedwith slots therein to prevent accumulation of dirt or debris in saidhousing member.
 5. The site plan vault assembly in accordance with claim1 wherein said removable cap member is threadedly engageable with saidupper end of said housing member.
 6. The site plan vault assembly inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said cap member is secured to saidhousing member or said support member by means of a toggle cord toprevent said cap member from being removed from said site plan vaultassembly.
 7. The site plan vault assembly in accordance with claim 1wherein a securing means is cooperatively mounted on said cap member andsaid housing member to lockingly engage said cap member with saidhousing member.
 8. The site plan vault assembly in accordance with claim1 wherein said housing member is tubular in nature and formed from PVCor ABS tubing.
 9. The site plan vault assembly in accordance with claim1 wherein said support member is of two piece construction to assist intransportation and storage, said two piece construction secured at a midpoint of said support member by means of a collar and locking pin. 10.The site plan vault assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidsite plan vault can be selectively, facilely moved from position toposition about said construction site to accommodate ingress and egressof construction vehicles.